Without You
by Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
Summary: Quinn and Mercedes don't like what's going on with Finn and Rachel, and decide they need to intervene. Crappy summary. Puckleberry!


Quinn exchanged a glance with Mercedes. Puck and Mr. Shue were singing "Over The Rainbow", but neither girl was paying attention. They had been watching Rachel, who was currently laying her head on Finn's shoulder and looking oh-so-happy. Although if you were to ask either one, they would tell you Rachel's smile seemed kind of fake.

The two girls nodded to each other and made their move after glee club was over.

"Rachel, we have to talk," Quinn said as Rachel packed up her stuff.

"Yeah, it's important," Mercedes added. "My mom can give you a ride home."

"Oh… okay then." Rachel was understandably confused as she had never been very close to Quinn or Mercedes. She turned to Finn. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. See ya, Rach," He replied with a smile before heading out the door.

The three waited until everyone left—which took a few minutes because Puck had to pack up his guitar—but pretty soon the room was cleared of the prying eyes and ears of their fellow glee clubbers.

Mercedes cut right to the chase. "You can't date Finn again."

"Excuse me?" Rachel demanded angrily. But before she could go off on one of her infamous rants, she was interrupted by Quinn.

"You can't go out with Finn because Puck totally likes you. And you know what, Rachel? I think you kind of like him too."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rachel insisted, though the blush coloring her cheeks indicated otherwise.

Quinn continued. "I'm not lying. He totally likes you. Everyone's noticed how much he seems to care about you. Brittany was the first one to point it out!" _That_ was definitely a shocker. "Puck stayed with me because of the baby and it was the right thing to do, but even then, I noticed he was totally crushing on you."

Rachel sat down in a chair, as she sensed this was going to be a long conversation. "Well, how can you possibly know any of this? He likes a lot of girls." She would not admit how much this sometimes bothered her.

Mercedes snorted. "Not like he likes you. He _cannot_ stop staring at you."

There went that blush again, giving Rachel's emotions away. Although, this time she was remembering their two almost-kisses. Noah was incredibly good looking; she would admit that much. And she had noticed him staring at her more than once.

But, she quickly reminded herself, Finn had said that he loves her. He _loves_ her! That had to mean something, right? So why didn't she feel anything other than friendly feelings towards him now?

Quinn added to the list of reasons, "Puck was also the first guy to come to your defense when Vocal Adrenaline egged you."

Rachel cringed inwardly, once again thinking about those poor baby chicks. The egging was something she didn't like to think about very often. "Well, yes, but that was all of the guys," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but who seemed the most hell bent on breaking Jesse's face?"

Rachel looked down. It _was_ true that Noah's main concern seemed to have been beating up Jesse.

"Look, Rachel," Quinn said, taking a seat next to her. "I know we never really got along, but I can't stand seeing Finn string you along again. I know exactly how next year will go, no matter how amazing this summer is. The minute you get back to school, he'll tell you he would rather not be seen with you because it would ruin his reputation!"

Rachel wanted to believe Finn had changed, she really did. But she remembered what had happened the last time they dated after Sectionals, and apparently so did Quinn and Mercedes. "He would do that, wouldn't he?" She realized with a touch of bitterness.

Mercedes just added to the growing list. "Rachel, everyone remembers Puck walking arm and arm with you in the hallway that week you two dated. He seemed pretty happy about it too."

"_And_ he picked glee club over football for you," Quinn quickly added. The two new best friends had clearly planned all of this out before hand.

Rachel remembered her disappointment when she realized that Finn had chosen his reputation over his friends. But Noah never really cared about that, did he? He had almost chosen football over glee but had changed his mind. He had picked _her_ over his reputation.

"You really think he likes me?" She asked, trying to ignore the way her heartbeat sped up.

Quinn smiled. "Yes, we definitely think Puck likes you. But… you've given Finn so many second chances that honestly, he never deserves. Don't you think Puck deserves just one?"

"You broke up with him after only a week," Mercedes pointed out.

Rachel toyed with the hem of her skirt. "We almost kissed, you know? When I asked him to help me on that 'Run, Joey, Run' video we did."

"And…?" Mercedes asked, always looking for new gossip.

"Nothing happened because I was dating Jesse… but I wanted to kiss him." She laughed softly. "And I basically admitted I still harbor feelings for him." Okay, so it was more than that, but she was not about to admit that to the school's biggest gossip.

"So, why didn't you do anything?" Quinn asked, confused.

"Because… Jesse seemed like my soul mate or something and there was the whole baby drama going on. And then a few days before Regionals, I kissed Finn in the hallway." She sighed. "I don't know why I did it, and now it seems like a huge mistake. And _then_ before we went onstage at Regionals, Finn said he loves me." She took a deep breath, but still wasn't done.

"But to honest, sitting there watching Noah perform with Mr. Shue today reminded me of when he sang 'Sweet Caroline' to me, which was so incredibly sweet and much less embarrassing than Finn singing 'Jessie's Girl'. I'm just starting to realize that Finn was really only ever interested in me when he couldn't have me and tried to make it this whole big… thing! But Noah's always been fairly honest and actually seemed to like me for me." She took a deep breath after letting all that out. And it was interesting, because saying it out loud helped her make sense of everything she was feeling.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Mercedes asked.

"I… I think I still really like Noah," Rachel admitted. "What do I do now?"

Quinn smiled. "Do what you always do. Sing about it. I know he can be really dense sometimes, but he'll get what you're trying to say. You just have to find the right song."

As Quinn talked, Rachel browsed mentally through the incredible amount of songs she knew. But none of them seemed right. This one had to be _perfect_.

She was still thinking when Mercedes' mother drove her home and all she could manage was a polite, "Thank you for the ride" before she was back to thinking.

It wasn't until a few hours later, after she had posted her daily MySpace video, that an idea finally hit her.

In the very brief time that she and Puck dated, Rachel had gotten him to watch one musical—"Rent". And she knew he actually enjoyed it (he claimed it was only because there was a stripper, but she suspected it was something deeper). She remembered him commenting on how kickass Roger was (though he liked Mark just because the irony of him being a blond, blue-eyed Jew amused him).

Before Rachel could convince herself that this was a bad idea (I mean, who knew if he knew any of the songs, even if she _had_ let him borrow the soundtrack), she was opening up her iTunes library and searching for the song. Once she found it, she smiled and starting forming a plan as she sang it (just to practice).

She walked into glee club the next day fully prepared. She got there a few minutes earlier than normal and passed out sheet music to the band. They looked at each other and shrugged. The song was easy enough, and they were used to Rachel Berry's crazy requests and were ready to play at a moment's notice.

Now Rachel just had to wait. Everyone thought they were just going to have a party today, but no one was surprised to see Rachel standing, ready to sing.

Kurt rolled his eyes and loudly protested, but Mercedes quickly shut him up. "This is important, don't complain!" She told him. He quickly shut up after that.

Quinn entered the room, followed soon after by Finn and lastly Puck.

Finn smiled at her and she looked down guiltily, knowing that he thought they would be singing together. If all went well, she would actually be singing with Noah by the end of this.

Rachel had asked Quinn about Finn last night when she had called to get some last minute advice. "I don't want to hurt him, which I'm afraid might happen if I go through with this."

Quinn laughed bitterly. "Here's what I can say about Finn. He hurt me by pining after you for God knows how long." Rachel cringed, remembering the pain she had put the blond former Cheerio through. Quinn continued, "But then I saw him hurt you when he decided he'd rather not be with you because, I guess to him, you're only interesting when he can't have you. So, to be perfectly honest, I don't give a crap what happens to him."

It was harsh, but Rachel knew that she had a point. Finn _had_ used both of them, really. But Rachel still didn't want there to be a whole lot of drama after this.

Mercedes cut into the conversation. "Listen, Rachel. Just go ahead with the plan; we'll take care of Finn, okay?"

Rachel smiled a little. "Okay. Thanks."

And now here she was, about to sing her heart out to a boy that she could only hope really actually liked her.

Rachel took a deep breath and looked to Mercedes and Quinn for some last minute reassurance. Both girls smiled and Quinn gave her a thumbs up.

She turned to face the rest of her fellow glee clubbers and her gaze fell momentarily on Puck. She waited until she had everyone's attention before she said, "Since we only have one more week until the end of the school year, I just wanted this opportunity to sing one last song." She paused and glanced at Mercedes and Quinn again before continuing. "This is actually for a certain someone, and I really hope he'll figure out who he is." She had to avoid looking at Finn; she didn't want to give him any false hope. She hoped Mercedes and Quinn wouldn't do anything mean to him, even though she knew the blond girl was currently mad at him.

She turned to the band and nodded at the guitarist. He adjusted his sheet music and then started a steady arpeggiation that continued for most of the song.

She saw Puck sit up a little straighter and look at her questioningly. She took a breath and started singing:

_Without you, the ground thaws_

_The rain falls_

_The grass grows  
Without you, the seeds root_

_The flowers bloom_

_The children play  
The stars gleam_

_The poets dream_

_The eagles fly, without you  
The earth turns_

_The sun burns_

_But I die, without you_

Puck listened to her sing and wondered if she was thinking about that time she actually got him to watch that musical when they dated. He would never tell anyone this but he had the soundtrack on his iPod and just so happened to learn this very song on the guitar (shut up, it was a total accident). But whatever, she wasn't singing to him anyway. She was obviously singing to Pretty Boy Hudson like she always did.

He looked over at his former best friend, who was looking confused (well, more confused than the dumbass usually did). Hmm, a song Rachel was singing that Finn didn't automatically join in on? Weird. He turned his attention back to Rachel as she sang the second verse. Except this time he noticed she was looking like directly at him. What the fuck?

_Without you, the breeze warms_

_The girl smiles_

_The cloud moves  
Without you, the tides change_

_The boys run_

_The oceans crash  
The crowds roar_

_The days soar_

_The babies cry, without you  
The moon glows_

_The river flows_

_But I die, without you_

Crap. Just as she was finishing up the second verse, Puck realized that this is where Roger came into the song. And she was clearly not singing to Finn (and no, he was not the slightest bit happy about that). But would he risk his badass reputation by letting everyone know that he actually knew the song? Fuck that. He didn't care about that anymore. He kinda liked Rachel and she obviously liked him, so that's why he opened up his mouth and sang:

_The world revives_

Rachel smiled even wider, letting him know he'd made the right choice. She sang:

_Colors Renew_

Together, they sang:

_But I know blue_

_Only blue_

_Lonely blue_

_Within me blue_

Rachel went back to singing solo:

_Without you  
Without you, the hand gropes _

_The ear hears_

_The pulse beats_

Puck was well aware of everyone staring at him, and to be honest, he couldn't even believe he _was_ singing. But that didn't stop him from taking the next verse anyway.

_Without you, the eyes gaze_

_The legs walk_

_The lungs breathe_

Rachel couldn't believe he was actually singing this with her, but did it mean anything? But she didn't really care at the moment; especially when he stood up and walked over to her as he sang:

_The mind churns!_

She echoed him, smile so big she her cheeks started hurting.

_The mind churns!_

He smiled at her and sang his next line:

_The heart yearns! _

She once again echoed him and then they sang the next verse together.

_The tears dry, without you_

_Life goes on, but I'm gone  
Cause I die, without you_

She stepped closer to him as she sang:

_Without you_

He echoed her, and they ended together:

_Without… you_

Rachel was so happy that her plan had worked that she didn't even notice Finn's angry expression or the claps and cheers of her fellow glee clubbers. All she could focus on was the boy in front of her with the hazel eyes.

"Uh, Rachel, can we talk?" He asked.

"Sure," she said with a smile. He grabbed her hand and pulled her outside of the choir room and into an empty hallway.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to look at her. "Did you, uh, actually mean that?"

Rachel nodded. "Quinn and Mercedes ambushed me after glee club to inform me that you have feelings for me. Were they right?"

"What do you think? I mean, I actually willingly sang a song from a fuckin' musical with you, Rachel."

She laughed. "I knew she liked the movie more than you admitted."

He cleared his throat and said, "I, uh, I thought you and Finn were, like, dating or something."

She sighed. "He admitted that he has feelings for me before we went onstage at Regionals and I'll admit I ready to give him a second chance. But Mercedes and Quinn helped me realize that I, in fact, have feelings for you."

He looked at her questioningly. "Really?"

She smiled shyly. "Yes, I believe I do."

He took his hands out of his pockets and said, "You know what? Quinn and Mercedes were right… I do really like you, Rach." He'd technically already said that, but it was nice to hear him say the actual words.

She stepped closer to him and he settled his hands on her hips. She could feel herself blushing as she looked up at him.

"Am I allowed to kiss you this time?" He asked softly, referring to their two almost-kisses.

She laughed softly and as an answer, stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

The two were so wrapped up in the kiss that neither registered Finn's angry shout of, "What the hell?" from down the hall.

* * *

**A/N**: Okay, first, this is my first Glee fic so please be nice! Secondly, this idea actually started with the song because I could totally picture Puck and Rachel singing it! But the actual story came at 11 o'clock last night while I was doing crossword puzzles… In case you don't know, the song was "Without You" from the musical Rent, which is amazing. So, if you haven't seen Rent… go watch it! Also, I fuckin' _hated_ that the season finale ended up as Finchel so I decided it needed a Puckleberry ending instead (could you tell that I hate Finn?). And well… the Quinn and Mercedes thing just popped into my head. I really hope everyone's in character (Puck is surprisingly really hard to write). Anyhoo, please read and review!

Oh, and by the way, Puck learning how to play "Without You" totally by accident… real story! I was just messing around on my acoustic and I was finger picking on a C chord! And well… that's pretty much the whole song. I just thought it was funny. lol

**Disclaimer**: Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy. Rent and the song "Without You" belong to Jonathan Larson (R.I.P). =]


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